PHILADELPHIA – Nearly two years ago, when the Buffalo Sabres were in the throes of a roster overhaul, General Manager Kevyn Adams acquired a young goalie whose historic performance at an international tournament raised eyebrows across the NHL.
Adams and his staff waited patiently, and recruited wisely, while Devon Levi honed his craft at Northeastern University. The 21-year-old broke records and earned numerous accolades while showcasing remarkable maturity in the crease.
On Friday, the Sabres' scouting, relationship-building, and patience paid off when Levi put pen to paper on a three-year entry-level contract that officially began his professional career. Levi will report directly to Buffalo, where he’ll join the Sabres in their quest to snap an 11-year playoff drought. He earned a spot in the NHL with two exceptional seasons at Northeastern.
Adams confirmed to reporters Friday night in Wells Fargo Center that the Canadian-born goalie will have a spot in the Sabres’ dressing room for the remainder of the season once he clears immigration. Their focus is to get Levi acclimated to the best league in the world by practicing with the group and learning from a mentor like fellow goalie Craig Anderson. Despite Buffalo’s status as a playoff contender, and the fact that few at the position make the jump from NCAA to NHL, Adams left the door ajar for Levi to make his NHL debut sometime over the final 14 games.
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“For us, we thought it was really important to have Devon integrate right away into our team,” said Adams. “I want to make sure that we get him comfortable. Obviously, he's gonna go through the immigration and once he gets there, then get into practices, start to feel part of the team and with the guys. … We'll kind of take it day by day, but we just thought for his development, where we are right now, this was a critical time for him to learn and grow with us and that's why he's coming right in.”
Levi becomes the third goalie on the Sabres’ active roster, joining Anderson and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Eric Comrie is out week to week with a lower-body injury, but he’s expected to return this season. The approach with Levi follows Adams’ philosophical approach to development. He’s repeated during his time as general manager that he’ll never rush a prospect, but he doesn’t want to block their path because history says they need a certain amount of games in the American Hockey League.
There are few recent examples of a goalie following this development path, though. Jeremy Swayman went from the University of Maine to the Boston Bruins with only a few games in the AHL, while Spencer Knight was given a spot on the Florida Panthers after two seasons at Boston College. Neither were as dominant as Levi.
Levi's .942 save percentage in 66 games at Northeastern is the second-best mark in the history of men’s college hockey, trailing only the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck, who finished his NCAA career with a mark of .946 in eight fewer games. Levi also had a career record of 38-22-6 and a 1.90 goals-against average with 16 shutouts, despite facing 32 shots on goal per game. Ryan Miller, who is considered the best college goalie ever, faced 26 shots per game during his time at Michigan State.
“In these situations, you want to be open minded to not put a timeline on anything,” said Adams. “Players all develop at different rates. What we ultimately want to do is make sure we're setting him up for success. So, we wouldn't put him in a situation that we didn't think he was ready for or prepared for, but he's clearly on a path that we feel is going to be pretty special, and we just want to support that.”
Levi was drafted in the seventh round, the 212th of 219 players selected in 2020, by the Florida Panthers. He didn’t play major junior, and he was the 19th goalie selected in that unusual draft that was delayed until October because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A few months later, Levi delivered a historic performance for Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship. He led the team to a silver medal with a .964 save percentage, beating the record previously held by Carey Price, and a 0.75 goals-against average. Levi was named the tournament’s top goaltender and emerged as a legitimate NHL prospect.
An injury suffered at the tournament prevented Levi from appearing in a game as a freshman at Northeastern, and he learned at the draft in July 2021 that his rights were traded by the Panthers to the Sabres in a deal that sent Sam Reinhart to Florida and also brought a 2022 first-round pick to Buffalo, which Adams used on Czech winger Jiri Kulich.
Levi established himself as one of the top drafted goalie prospects as a sophomore, earning a .952 save percentage – the second-best, full-season mark – and 10 shutouts in 32 games. He led the Huskies to the Hockey East regular-season title and NCAA tournament. Levi also earned a litany of honors in college hockey, including first-team All-American, Hockey East Goaltender of the Year, top collegiate rookie, finalist for the Hobey Baker and winner of the Mike Richter Award, which is given to the best goalie.
“He’s very self-aware, he’s very motivated, he’s very curious, and he’s passionate about the game,” said Adams. “Those are all the things we look for in players. Devon’s comment to me about, ‘Hey, I want to feel what it’s like to have weighted expectations on my shoulders to go back as the top goaltender in college hockey,’ I thought it was impressive. To have that and then perform the way he did – I’m not surprised because he’s an extremely talented goaltender, but I just think it says a lot about him. He is very process oriented. The way he prepares himself, the way he practices, the way he puts the work in. And, you know, that’s what we’re about here, so it’s a good match.”
The Sabres tried to sign Levi last spring. He attended the team's morning skate ahead of a game in Boston. Adams and owner Terry Pegula sat with Levi in a suite at TD Garden for both games of the Frozen Four. The club’s development staff has built a relationship with Levi over the past two years, attending his games and offering advice from near and far.
Levi opted to return to college because he missed a year with the injury and wanted to experience the weight of expectations. Before Levi returned to campus, though, he joined fellow prospects at development camp in July, where he became friends with current Sabres Mattias Samuelsson and Jack Quinn, among others. Levi walked away impressed by what the organization had built since the trade.
Northeastern struggled offensively many nights this season, but Levi led the Huskies to a second consecutive Beanpot tournament win after missing the event last year for the Winter Olympics. He stopped 63 of 66 shots in two wins on his way to MVP honors. There were some challenging games, but it was another impressive season. Levi finished with a .933 save percentage to become the conference's goalie of the year for a second consecutive year. He's also a finalist for the Hobey Baker and Mike Richter awards.
The Sabres had to be aggressive in negotiations. When Northeastern’s season ended with a quarterfinal loss, Adams and some of his staff got on a video conference call with Levi, his family and agents. The team made laid out its vision to build on a season in which Buffalo is among the top scoring teams in the NHL and ahead of schedule in its plan to be a consistent contender. There was also talk about their plan for Levi in the short- and long-term.
“Obviously he liked what he heard and then we went from there,” said Adams. “Devon’s really thoughtful. He’s not an emotional guy. He takes things to heart and thinks about it. So, it took a few days to kind of go through the process. Obviously, we got to where we got to today, so that’s great news.”
Buffalo has been searching for a franchise goalie since Miller’s departure in 2014. Luukkonen and Comrie were the only netminders under contract through next season. There’s an opportunity for Levi to seize the starting job as soon as the fall. The Sabres also had to give Levi a contract that’s fit for a top prospect.
According to PuckPedia, Levi is the only player drafted outside the first round in 2020 whose entry-level contract contains the maximum allowed salary, a signing bonus and close to maximum performance bonuses. The Sabres didn’t care that seventh-round draft picks typically don’t receive such a deal. It was a small price to pay to ensure a top prospect at a position of need joined a team that’s still pushing for a playoff spot.
“I think the reality is in these situations you take away draft position and what you really look at is the body of work that he's done since the draft,” Adams explained. “The position certainly plays a part of this and then you look at kind of where we are as an organization and what we're trying to do and you try to work toward a deal. Obviously, he performed well, and he earned it, and we had no problem doing it.”
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